Three dimensional microelectronic components and fabrication methods for same

ABSTRACT

Aspects and examples include electrical components and methods of forming electrical components. In one example, a method includes selecting a substrate, forming a pattern of a first conductive material on a top surface of the substrate, forming a pattern of a second conductive material on a bottom surface of the substrate, dicing the substrate into one or more die having a first diced surface and a second diced surface, securing the first diced surface of each of the one or more die to a retaining material, encapsulating the one or more die in an encapsulent to form a reconstituted wafer, and forming a pattern of a third conductive material on the second diced surface by metalizing a surface of the reconstituted wafer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/478,257, titled “THREE DIMENSIONALMICROELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND FABRICATION METHODS FOR SAME,” filed onMay 23, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Conventional microelectronics fabrication techniques often involve thefabrication of devices, for example microprocessors, on a semiconductorsubstrate by the selective doping of regions of the substrate anddeposition and patterning of various layers of dielectric, metals, andsemiconductor materials. These layers of materials are often very thin,on the order of microns. The resulting devices are effectively twodimensional. Providing additional functionality, for example, by theaddition of additional transistors or other features to a device,conventionally requires the surface area of the device to be increased,subsequently reducing the number of devices that can be formed on asingle wafer or included within a package of a given size.

SUMMARY

Aspects and embodiments of the present invention are directed generallyto structures used in the fabrication of microelectronic circuits suchas integrated circuits, multi-chip modules, and multi-layer high densitymulti-component modules.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of forming an electrical component. The method comprisesselecting a substrate, forming a pattern of a first conductive materialon a top surface of the substrate, forming a pattern of a secondconductive material on one of a bottom surface of the substrate and adielectric layer formed over the pattern of the first conductivematerial, dicing the substrate into plurality of dies each having afirst diced surface and a second diced surface, securing the first dicedsurface of each of the plurality of dies to a retaining material,encapsulating the plurality of dies in an encapsulent to form areconstituted wafer, and forming a pattern of a third conductivematerial on the second diced surfaces by metalizing a surface of thereconstituted wafer.

In accordance with some embodiments each of the first conductivematerial, the second conductive material, and the third conductivematerials comprise a metal.

In accordance with some embodiments forming the pattern of a firstconductive material on the top surface of the substrate comprisesforming a first plurality of metal lines on the top surface of thesubstrate

In accordance with some embodiments forming the pattern of the secondconductive material on the bottom surface of the substrate comprisesforming a second plurality of metal lines on the bottom surface of thesubstrate.

In accordance with some embodiments forming the second plurality ofmetal lines on the bottom surface of the substrate comprises forming thesecond plurality of metal lines at positions horizontally displaced fromthe first plurality of metal lines on the top surface of the substrate.

In accordance with some embodiments selecting a substrate comprisesselecting a substrate comprising a ferrite material.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprises forminga pattern of a fourth conductive material on the first diced surfaces.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprisesthinning the reconstituted wafer prior to one of forming the pattern ofthe third conductive material on the second diced surface and formingthe pattern of the fourth conductive material on the first dicedsurface.

In accordance with some embodiments forming the pattern of the thirdconductive material on the second diced surface electrically connects afirst metal line on the top side of the substrate to a second metal lineon the bottom side of the substrate.

In accordance with some embodiments forming the pattern of the fourthconductive material on the first diced surface electrically connects afourth metal line on the top side of the substrate to the second metalline on the bottom side of the substrate.

In accordance with some embodiments the electrical component formedcomprises an inductor.

In accordance with some embodiments selecting a substrate comprisesselecting a substrate comprising an insulating material.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprises formingone or more bond pads in electrical communication with one or more ofthe first plurality of metal lines on an upper side of the reconstitutedwafer.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprises formingone or more bond pads in electrical communication with one or more ofthe first plurality of metal lines on a lower side of the reconstitutedwafer.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprisesthinning the reconstituted wafer prior to one of forming the one or morebond pads on the upper side of the reconstituted wafer and forming theone or more bond pads on the lower side of the reconstituted wafer.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprisesincorporating the electrical component into an electronic module, one ofthe first plurality of metal lines configured as a through wafer via inthe electronic module and electrically connecting a second electroniccomponent in the electronic module to the one of the first plurality ofmetal lines.

In accordance with some embodiments the one or more of the firstplurality of metal lines have a length in a direction normal to thefirst diced surface of greater than about 1 mm.

In accordance with some embodiments the one or more of the firstplurality of metal lines have a length which is greater than about 15times a thickness of the one or more of the first plurality of metallines and about 15 times a width of the one or more of the firstplurality of metal lines.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of forming an electrical component. The methodcomprises forming a first pattern of metal lines on a top surface of asubstrate, each of the metal lines in the first pattern having a length,forming a second pattern of a metal lines on one of a bottom surface ofthe substrate and a dielectric layer formed over the pattern of thefirst conductive material, the metal lines in the second patternparallel to the metal lines in the first pattern, dicing the substrateinto one or more die having a first diced surface and a second dicedsurface, and forming a third pattern of metal on the first dicedsurface.

In accordance with some embodiments forming the second pattern of ametal lines comprises forming the second pattern of a metal lineshorizontally displaced from the metal lines in the first pattern in adirection normal to a direction defined by the length of a metal line inthe first pattern of metal lines and in a plane parallel to the bottomsurface of the substrate.

In accordance with some embodiments forming the third pattern of metalcomprises forming a third pattern of metal lines.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further comprises forminga fourth pattern of metal lines on the second diced surface.

In accordance with some embodiments the method further compriseselectrically connecting a metal line in the first pattern of metal linesand a metal line in the second pattern of metal lines with a metal linein one of the third pattern of metal lines and the fourth pattern ofmetal lines.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of forming an electrical component. The methodcomprises selecting a substrate, forming a layer of first sacrificialmaterial on a top surface of the substrate, forming a pattern of a firstconductive material on a top surface of the layer of the firstsacrificial material, forming a layer of second sacrificial material ona top surface of the pattern of the first conductive material, forming apattern of a second conductive material on a top surface of the layer ofthe second sacrificial material, forming an end structure physicallyjoined to at least a portion of the pattern of the first conductivematerial and to at least a portion of the pattern of the secondconductive material; removing the substrate and the layer of the firstsacrificial material from the pattern of the first conductive material,embedding the pattern of the first conductive material and the patternof the second conductive material in one of a reconstituted wafer and amulti-chip module, and removing the end structure from the embeddedpattern of the first conductive material and pattern of the secondconductive material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of one example of a method in accordance withaspects of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one example of a portion of a substrate inaccordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view one example of a portion of a die formed from theportion of the substrate of FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the portion of the die of FIG. 3illustrating a plurality of conductive features formed thereon;

FIG. 5 is a cross section of the die of FIG. 3 adhered to one example ofa handling wafer in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of one example of a reconstituted wafer inaccordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross section of the reconstituted wafer of FIG. 6 adheredto one example of a handling wafer in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the reconstituted wafer of FIG. 6 includingexamples of a plurality of die including examples of inductors inaccordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of one example of an inductor in accordance withaspects of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of one example of a through substrate via die inaccordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of one example of a through substrate via die inaccordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an isometric view of one example of a through substrate viadie in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of one example of a through substrate viastructure in accordance with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of one example of a through substrate viastructure in accordance with aspects of the present invention; and

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of one example of a method in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventionally, electronic circuits are fabricated using methods thatinclude the stacking of planar layers of patterned metal. These planarlayers of patterned metal are typically formed parallel to the surfaceof a substrate upon which the electronic circuit is formed (referred toherein as “horizontal” layers.) For some applications, however, it isdesirable to provide patterned metal layers that are perpendicular tothe surface of the substrate on which the electronic circuit is formed(referred to herein as being “vertical structures.”) These verticallayers may be used to provide, for example, vias for connecting featureson one side of the substrate to features on a second side of a substrate(referred to herein as “through substrate vias” or “TSVs”) or to formthree dimensional structures such as inductors. Various previously knownmethods for attempting to form functional vertical metal structures inan electronic device, including laser structuring of blanket metalcoated substrates or soldering together discrete substrates, exhibitlimitations regarding, for example, achievable feature size, minimumcomponent size, and compatible metals. None of these methods are capableof producing TSVs that are substantially thicker in a direction normalto a surface of a substrate in which they are embedded than about 400 μmdue to limitations of the processes. For some applications it isdesirable to have TSVs formed in die or substrates that are 1,000 μm ormore in thickness in a direction normal to a surface of a substrate inwhich they are embedded.

It has thus been found desirable to have a process that usesconventional planar processes to produce three dimensional patternedmetallization which is capable of producing vertical metallizationfeatures with feature thicknesses equal or greater than possible withpreviously known processes.

This invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carriedout in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used hereinis for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,”“involving,” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass theitems listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additionalitems.

A generalized process in accordance with various aspects and embodimentsis illustrated generally at 100 in FIG. 1. Prior to beginning the methoda substrate 210, a section of which is illustrated in FIG. 2, upon whichthe method is to be performed is provided or obtained. This substratemay be a conventional semiconductor wafer, for example, a wafer ofsilicon (Si), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs) or one or moreother semiconductors. The substrate may in some embodiments be anelectrical insulator and may comprise a dielectric such as silicondioxide (glass) or sapphire, and in other embodiments may be a ferritematerial. Non-limiting examples of ferrite materials from which thesubstrate may be formed include manganese-zinc ferrites (MnZn, with aformula Mn_(a)Zn_((1-a))Fe₂O₄0≦a≦1), nickel-zinc ferrites (NiZn, with aformula Ni_(a)Zn_((1-a))Fe₂O₄0≦a≦1), magnesium spinels, a nickel spinelsuch as Trans-Tech TT2-111 (available from Trans-Tech, Inc., Adamstown,Md.,) a barium ferrite, a zinc ferrite, an iron ferrite, Ba₃Co₂Fe₂₄O₄₁,or other ferrite materials which may be selected based on their electricand/or magnetic properties.

In first step 110 of the method, a top side 240 of the substrate ismetalized and patterned to form a metal pattern on the substrate, forexample a series of metal lines 220 (also referred to herein as metaltraces) as shown in FIG. 2. These metal lines 220 may be formed by anyconventional method of deposition and patterning of metal on a substrateknown in the art. These methods may include, for example, metaldeposition by one or more of sputtering, electroless plating,evaporative deposition, chemical vapor deposition, laser deposition,firing from an ink or paste formulation where the ink or paste isdeposited by a needle dispense, screen-printing, immersion or dipcoating, or electroplating, and patterning by one or more well knownmethods of photolithography and/or chemical etching. The metal lines 220may comprise copper, aluminum, or any other metal or conductivematerial. One or more non-metallic materials may also or additionally beused to form the conductive lines 220, although for the sake ofsimplicity, the lines 220 are referred to herein as “metal lines.” Oneor more adhesion layers, for example, a layer of titanium may beprovided to facilitate adhesion of the metal lines 220 to the substrate210. The metal lines may have dimensions of, for example, between about20 μm and about 50 μm across, although embodiments of the presentinvention are not limited to any particular dimensions of the metallines 220.

A portion of the metal lines 220 (which may be a “seed portion” forelectroplating) may be formed by physical deposition, for example,sputtering or evaporation, and a remaining portion may be formed byelectroplating. The physically deposited portion of metal lines 220 mayinclude, for example, approximately 200 nm of copper over approximately100 nm of titanium, and the electroplated portion may comprise orconsist essentially of from about 3 μm to about 25 μm of copper oranother metal as measured in a direction normal to a plane defined bythe surface of the substrate on which they are deposited. Thesedimensions are exemplary only, and embodiments of the present inventionare not limited to any particular dimensions for the metal lines 220. Inanother embodiment, substantially all of the metal lines 220 are formedby physical deposition. In some embodiments, the metal lines 220 may besintered, thus reacting with the material of the substrate 210 toconvert at least a portion of substrate 210 into a conductive alloy (forexample, a metal silicide.)

In step 120, the bottom side 250 of the substrate 210 is metalized andpatterned to form a metal pattern on the substrate, for example a seriesof metal lines similar to metal lines 220 shown in FIG. 2. In someembodiments, the metal lines 220 formed on the top side 240 of thesubstrate are offset from the metal lines formed on the bottom side 250of the substrate, for example horizontally offset in a direction normalto a direction defined by the length of the metal lines and in the planeparallel to the top and/or bottom side 240, 250 of the substrate. Themetal lines on the bottom side 250 of the substrate 210 may comprise thesame or similar materials as those formed on the top side 240 of thesubstrate 210 or may comprise one or more different or additionalmaterials. The metal lines on the bottom side 250 of the substrate 210may be formed in a similar method as those formed on the top side 240 ofthe substrate 210 or may be formed by a different method.

In step 130 the substrate 120 is diced into individual die 300. Thesubstrate may, for example, be sawed or cleaved along lines such asthose indicated at 230 in FIG. 2. The individual die will have firstsides 260 and second sides 270 formed by the dicing operation. Anembodiment of a die formed in this step is illustrated in a plan view inFIG. 3, and in an elevational view from the side in FIG. 4. As can beseen in FIG. 4, the metal lines 220 on the top side 240 side of thesubstrate may be horizontally offset from the metal lines on the bottomside 250 of the substrate 210. The individual die may have dimensionsof, for example, about 0.5 mm in length, from about 10 μm to about 20 μmin thickness, and from about 150 μm to about 1,000 μm in width, althoughembodiments of the present invention are not limited to any particulardimensions of the die 300.

In step 140, the individual die 300 are arranged and placed with thefirst sides 260 (or alternatively, the second sides 270) face down ontoa retaining material 350, for example, a liquid adhesive such as a glue,a solid adhesive such as a tape adhesive, or an adhesive film to holdthe die in position relative to one another. The adhesive film may bemounted on a rigid material, for example, a handling wafer 360 formed ofa dielectric, a semiconductor (Si, Ge, GaAs, etc.), ferrite, metal, orother type of material as is illustrated in FIG. 5, where the metallines 220 have been omitted for clarity. The adhesive film 350 maycomprise a material such as Mylar® polyester sheeting, or one or moreother adhesive films known in the art. In some embodiments the adhesivefilm may be omitted, and the individual die 300 may be placed directlyonto a dielectric material as the retaining material. The dielectricmaterial may be the handling wafer 360 or a film, for example, glass,formed on the handling wafer 360. The dielectric material may be exposedto a high temperature to soften a surface of the dielectric materialsuch that as each individual die 300 is placed in a desired location itadheres to the dielectric material. The dielectric material may then becooled so that the individual die 300 are fixed in place on thedielectric material relative to each other. In some embodiments, the diemay be adhered to the retaining material 350 utilizing one or moremethods such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,960,247, titled “DIETHINNING PROCESS AND STRUCTURES,” which is assigned to the assignee ofthe present application and is incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

Once adhered to the retaining material, the sides of the individual die300 not adhered to the retaining material, for example, the second sides270, may be substantially co-planar, for example, planar to within about±2 μm or less relative to the second sides 270 of the other individualdie 300.

In step 150 a reconstructed wafer 400, illustrated in FIG. 6, may beformed by encapsulating the die 300 mounted to the retaining layer in anencapsulent 410. The encapsulent 410 may comprise a polymeric materialthat may be filled or unfilled. The encapsulent may comprise athermoplastic material that can be flowed over or around the die, softbaked to be solid but pliable on heating, planarized, and then hardbaked to increase the stiffness of the material. The encapsulent 410 maycomprise, for example, a filled polymer such as molding epoxy. Thefiller may reduce the thermal expansion of the polymer, and may includeminerals, for example, quartz, in the form of particles. The particlesmay be in the form of, for example, spheres, and may have characteristicdimensions, for example, diameters, smaller than approximately 50 μm.The particles, however are not limited to being sphereical and may beplate-like or oblong in some embodiments. The encapsulant 410 may be aninsulating material having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)approximately equal to the CTE of silicon. In some embodiments, theencapsulant 410 may comprise a heavily filled material such as an epoxymolding compound available from Shin-Etsu Chemical Co, LTD, Tokyo Japan.

The encapsulent may comprise materials and be deposited in methods suchas described for the encapsulation layer 1105 described in U.S. Pat. No.7,727,806, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR HIGH DENSITY MULTI-COMPONENTMODULES,” which is assigned to the assignee of the present applicationand is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

The encapsulent 410 may be applied to the die 300 on the retainingmaterial in a mold such that the resultant reconstructed wafer 400 hasdesired dimensions and shape when solidified. The reconstructed wafer400 may be, for example, substantially or completely circular with adiameter similar or equal to that of a standard sized semiconductorwafer, for example, about 100 mm, about 150 mm, or about 200 mm indiameter.

The retaining material 350 may then be removed from the reconstructedwafer, resulting in the surfaces of the first sides 260 (oralternatively, the second sides 270) of the die 300 which were adheredto the retaining material being substantially coplanar, for exampleplanar to within about ±2 μm or less with the surface of thereconstructed wafer 400 formed from the encapsulent which had solidifiedadjacent the retaining material. A handling wafer 380 may then be bondedto a surface of the reconstructed wafer 400 using a bonding material 390such as WaferBOND® HT-10.10 temporary bonding material available fromBrewer Science, Inc., Rolla, Mo. (FIG. 7) to provide the reconstructedwafer with sufficient mechanical stability to withstand the remainingprocessing steps. The handling wafer 380 may comprise a wafer of glassor of a semiconductor material, for example, silicon or any othermaterial providing a desired degree of mechanical strength. In someembodiments, where the retaining material to which the individual diewere adhered to in act 140 was mounted on or comprised a handling wafer360 formed from, for example, glass or a semiconductor material, theretaining material and handling wafer 360 may be used instead of or inaddition to the handling wafer 380.

The reconstructed wafer 400 may undergo a thinning process to expose thesurfaces of the first sides 260 (or alternatively, the second sides 270)of the die which may have been covered with encapsulent and/or toplanarize the surfaces of the first sides 260. The thinning process maycomprise mechanical grinding or lapping, for example, on a copperlapping plate, with a polishing slurry, for example, diamond particlessuspended in a liquid such as water. In some embodiments, exposedsurfaces of the first sides 260 of the thinned die 300 are furthersmoothed by, for example, chemical-mechanical polishing.

After exposing, and optionally polishing a first set of surfaces, forexample, surfaces of the first sides 260 (or alternatively, the secondsides 270) of the die 300, these surfaces are metalized (step 160 ofFIG. 1.) The metallization may include forming metal lines 320, asillustrated in FIG. 8. As illustrated in an expanded view in FIG. 9, themetal lines 320 may electrically connect the metal lines 220 which wereformed on the top and bottom sides 240, 250 of the die 300 in steps 110and 120 of FIG. 1. The metal lines 320 may be formed in a similar mannerand of a similar material or materials as the metal lines 220 or may beformed in a different manner or from a different material or materials.Bond pads 330 may be formed concurrently with and from a similarmaterial or materials as the metal lines 320 or may be formed in adifferent set of processing acts.

After the metal lines 320 are formed on the surface of the first sides260 (or alternatively, the second sides 270) of the die 300, thehandling wafer 360, 380 may be removed from the reconstructed waferusing methods known in the art, such as by dissolution of the bondingmaterial with a solvent or by heating to soften the bonding material.Another handling wafer, which in some embodiments may be the samehandling wafer 360, 380 previously used, may be attached to thereconstructed wafer over the metal lines 320 on an upper side 340 of thereconstructed wafer using a bonding material such as WaferBOND® HT-10.10temporary bonding material. The surfaces of the second sides 270 (oralternatively, first sides 260) of the die 300 may then be exposed onthe lower side 360 of the reconstructed wafer by thinning thereconstructed wafer (step 170 of FIG. 1.) The thinning process maycomprise mechanical grinding or lapping, for example, on a copperlapping plate, with a polishing slurry, for example, diamond particlessuspended in a liquid such as water. In some embodiments, exposedsurfaces of the second sides 270 of the thinned die 300 are furthersmoothed by, for example, chemical-mechanical polishing in a similarmanner as were the surfaces of the first sides 260. Metal lines (notshown), which may be similar to metal lines 320 may then be formed onthe surfaces of the second sides 270 of the die 300 (step 180 of FIG.1.) The metal lines formed on the second sides 270 of the die 300 may beformed of a similar material or materials as the metal lines 320 and maybe formed in a similar manner as the metal lines 320. The metal linesformed on the second sides 270 of the die 300 may electrically connectthe metal lines 220 which were formed on the top and bottom sides 240,250 of the die 300 in acts 110 and 120 of FIG. 1 on the second sides 270of the die. Bond pads may be formed on the lower side 360 of thereconstructed wafer of a similar material or materials and in a similarmanner as bond pads 330. In some embodiments bond pads are only formedon one side of the reconstituted wafer.

The resulting structures comprising the substrate 210 and metal lines220 and 320 may comprise a spiral, helix, or coil formed from the metallines about the diced substrate 210. These structures may function asinductors. These inductors may have a higher capacity for energy storagewith lower resistive losses and lower capacitive losses due to couplingbetween the traces than conventionally formed inductors due to the highdensity of thick flat metal traces formed thereon. The inductance of theinductors so formed may be determined by the width, spacing, and numberof the metal lines 220, 320, and by the dimensions and material ormaterials of the substrate. A non-limiting range for the inductance ofinductors formed in accordance with this method may be from about 1 nHto about 1 μH, although inductors having inductances falling outsidethis range may also be formed in accordance with embodiments of thepresently disclosed method.

The reconstituted wafer may be diced into sections including one or moreof the inductors. In some embodiments, the encapsulent may be removed bymethods such as heating, dissolving in a solvent, or by other chemicalor physical methods that may depend on the type of encapsulent used.These sections may be incorporated as dicrete elements in electronicmodules, or may be incorporated into another reconstituted wafer withadditional components to form multiple electronic modules from areconstituted wafer. The electronic modules so formed may comprise, forexample, components for communication, such as wireless communication oroptical communication. The components may include radio frequencytransmitters and/or radio frequency receivers. More generally, they mayinclude radio frequency integrated circuits, or microwave integratedcircuits. Additionally, or alternatively, the components may includeoptical signal processors including optical signal transmitters, such aslight emitting diodes (LEDs), tunable diodes, or lasers, and opticalsignal receivers, such as photodiodes.

In some embodiments, the components may include sensors, such asmechanical sensors, thermal sensors, optical sensors, electricalsensors, and/or chemical sensors. The chemical sensors may be in fluidcommunication with external fluid samples via microfluidic channels forchemical sensing and analysis. Other exemplary sensors includeaccelerometers, tilt sensors, and gyroscopes.

The components may include transducers, such as actuators. Exemplaryactuators include mechanical actuators, thermal actuators, opticalactuators, electrical actuators, chemical actuators, and fluidicactuators. The transducers may also include motors, pistons, relays,microphones, piezoelectric devices, batteries, and/or fuel cells.

Although many of the possible component types mentioned above are activecomponents, they may also be passive components. For example, thecomponents may include inductors, capacitors, and/or resistors.

In another aspect of the present invention, a similar method such asdescribed above may be used to form TSVs for inclusion in an electronicmodule. Multiple TSVs may be formed on a die 500 as illustrated in planview in FIG. 9. Embodiments of methods for forming TSVs may be similarto that illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above for forming inductors,with a modification to steps 160 and/or 180. Instead of forming metallines 320 which electrically connect one or more of the metal lines 220on either or both of top and bottom sides 240, 250 of the die and/orforming bond pads 330, bond pads 430, illustrated in FIG. 9 may beformed on one or both sides 340, 370 of the reconstituted wafer. Thesebond pads 430 may make electrical connection with and substantiallyoverly portions of one or more of the metal lines 220 on one or both ofthe top and/or bottom sides 240, 250 of the die. In various embodiments,the bond pads 430 are not limited to the shapes or locations illustratedin FIG. 9. In different embodiments the bond pads 430 may be larger orsmaller or may be positioned differently, for example, one or more ofthe bond pads 430 may be positioned at a location not overlying a metalline 220, but electrically connected to the metal line 220 by anadditional conductor or metal trace.

A reconstituted wafer including the TSV die 500 may be diced intosections including one or more of the TSV die. These sections may beincorporated into another reconstituted wafer or multi-layer module withadditional components to form an electrical device such as describedabove with reference to the inductors. In some embodiments, theencapsulent may be removed by methods such as heating, dissolving in asolvent, or by other chemical or physical methods that may depend on thetype of encapsulent used prior to placing the TSV die in an electricaldevice or module.

The TSV die formed in accordance with embodiments of the methoddescribed herein may have TSVs with aspect ratios significantly greaterthan may be achieved using conventionally known processes. For example,the TSVs may have aspect ratios of about 10:1 (length:width and/orthickness) or greater, of about 15:1 (length:width and/or thickness) orgreater, or of about 25:1 (length:width and/or thickness) or greater.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method illustrated inFIG. 1 may be modified such that in steps 110 and/or 120, multiplelayers of metallization separated by dielectric material(s) may beformed on either one or both of the top side 240 or bottom side 250 ofthe substrate 210. Such a modified method may facilitate the formationof an increased density of TSVs on a TSV die as compared to a methodincluding the formation of a single layer of metal lines on sides of asubstrate. This modified method may result in the formation of a metaland dielectric layer stack on a substrate 210 as illustrated in FIG. 11,generally indicated at 600. FIG. 11 is an elevational view from the sideof a portion of a diced substrate, similar to that of FIG. 4, but withmultiple layers of metal lines 220 formed thereon and separated bylayers of dielectric 610. The substrate 210 and metal lines 220 may beformed of similar materials as the substrate 210 and metal lines 220described above. The dielectric 610 may be any suitable dielectric, forexample, silicon dioxide or polyimide. The metal lines 220 may bedeposited by methods such as those described above and the dielectricmay be deposited by methods similar to those as for the encapsulent 410described above. The layers of dielectric 610 may be planarized prior tothe deposition of metal lines 220 thereupon. Various methods ofdepositing and patterning metal lines and dielectric layers are known inthe art of semiconductor fabrication and will not be described infurther detail here.

FIG. 11 illustrates three layers of metal lines 220 and dielectric 610deposited on both the top side 240 and bottom side 250 of the substrate210. Various aspects may, however, have a greater or lesser number oflayers of dielectric 610 and metal lines 220, for example, four, five,six, or more layers of dielectric 610 and metal lines 220. Further, insome aspects, only one of the top side 240 and bottom side 250 of thesubstrate 210 may have layers of dielectric 610 and/or metal lines 220formed thereon. The metal lines 220 may have a similar pattern in eachlayer, may have a pattern that is similar but offset from one layer toanother, or may have different patterns in different layers.

Upon formation of the multiple layers of metal lines 220 and dielectric610, the diced substrate 600 may be processed in accordance with stepssuch as steps 140-180 of FIG. 1 described above to form TSVs in areconstituted wafer or multi-layer module to form an electrical device.

A further aspect of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 12-14.A flowchart of an example of a method for forming the aspect of FIGS.12-14 is illustrated in FIG. 15, indicated generally at 900. In thisaspect, a first sacrificial material layer 710 is formed on a substrate210 (step 910 of FIG. 15.) The substrate 210 may comprise any one ormore of the substrate materials discussed above. The sacrificialmaterial layer 710 may comprise a polymer such as polyimide, adielectric such as glass, a metal such as copper, or any other materialthat may later be removed as described below. A first pattern of metallines 720 a is formed on the sacrificial material layer 710 by anysuitable method of deposition and patterning (step 920 of FIG. 15.)Between individual metal lines 720 a are formed regions of sacrificialmaterial 715, which in some embodiments may be the same or a similarmaterial as in the sacrificial material layer 710. A second sacrificialmaterial layer 710, which may comprise the same material as the firstsacrificial material layer 710, is formed atop the first pattern ofmetal lines 720 a and sacrificial material 715 (step 930 of FIG. 15.) Asecond pattern of metal lines 720 b, separated by sacrificial material715 is then formed on the second sacrificial material layer 710 by anysuitable method of deposition and patterning (step 940 of FIG. 15.) Thesecond pattern of metal lines 720 b may be formed from the same or asimilar material as the first pattern of metal lines 720 a. Anon-sacrificial end structure 725, which may comprise the same or asimilar material as one or both of the first and second patterns ofmetal lines, 720 a and 720 b is formed along with the layers of metallines and sacrificial material (step 950 of FIG. 15.) Thenon-sacrificial end structure 725 physically bonds with or is formedintegral with the first and second patterns of metal lines, 720 a and720 b.

Although only two layers of metal lines and four metal lines in eachlayer are illustrated in FIG. 12, it should be understood that multipleadditional layers of metal lines, for example, six or more, andadditional metal lines in each layer, for example, 10 or more may beincluded in various aspects.

Methods of deposition and patterning of the various layers and regionsof sacrificial material, metal lines, and other features of the aspectof FIGS. 12-14 may be similar to those methods described above withreference to other aspects or may be any appropriate methods known inthe art of semiconductor fabrication.

The structure of FIG. 12 may be placed in a solution, for example, asolvent, acid, or other appropriate solution to dissolve or otherwiseremove the sacrificial material layers 710 and sacrificial material 715(step 960 of FIG. 15.) The substrate 210 may then be removed, leavingbehind a metal comb-like structure 800 as illustrated in isometric viewin FIG. 13, and in plan view in FIG. 14. The structure 800 includes arow of a plurality of metal posts formed by the metal lines 720 a and arow of a plurality of metal posts formed by the metal lines 720 b, allconnected to one another by the non-sacrificial end structure 725. Themetal posts formed by the metal lines 720 a and 720 b are illustratedwider in FIG. 14 than in FIG. 13.

The structure 800 may be incorporated or embedded into a reconstitutedwafer or multichip module and encapsulated (step 970 of FIG. 15.) Thestructure 800 may be oriented with the long axes (the axes in thevertical direction in FIG. 14) of the metal posts normal to a surface ofthe reconstituted wafer or multi-chip module in which it is embedded.After the reconstituted wafer or multichip module is formed, thenon-sacrificial end structure 725 may be removed by, for example,thinning of the reconstituted wafer or multi-chip module (step 980 ofFIG. 15.) The metal posts may function as TSVs in the reconstitutedwafer or multi-chip module.

The materials of construction and dimensions of the structuresillustrated in the aspect of FIGS. 12 and 13 are not limited to anyparticular materials or dimensions. In one specific embodiment, themetal lines 720 a and/or 720 b may comprise a nickel-cobalt alloy or acopper core enclosed in another material such as a nickel-cobalt alloy.The sacrificial material 715 and/or sacrificial material layers 710 maycomprise copper. The metal posts formed from the metal lines 720 aand/or 720 b may have dimensions of from about 500 μm to about one mm ormore in length with a cross sectional area of between about 25 μm² andabout 100 μm².

In various embodiments, one or more of the steps of the methodsillustrated in FIG. 1 or FIG. 15 or as described above with reference tothe formation of inductors or TSV die may be performed in a differentorder than illustrated or described. In some embodiments, one or more ofthe steps illustrated in FIG. 1 or FIG. 15 may be eliminated and/oradditional steps may be included in the method or substituted for one ormore of the acts illustrated. For example, in some embodiments of themethod of FIG. 1, following metallization of the top and/or bottom sides240 and 250 of the substrate and dicing, one or more die are placedalong with other components and encapsulated to form a reconstructedwafer with multi-chip modules. The reconstructed wafer may then have atleast one layer of metal patterned on the top and/or bottom surfacesthereof that connect to the exposed metallization on the diced surfacesof the die. The top and/or bottom metallization of the die (acts 160and/or 180 of FIG. 1) may be performed concurrently with the formationof interconnects of the multi-chip modules. The finished wafer may bediced to produce modules with the die embedded in the modules. Theembedded die can provide electrical connection between the top andbottom surfaces of the modules (TSVs) or they can be functionalcomponents of the modules, for example, inductors.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming an electrical component, themethod comprising: selecting a substrate; forming a pattern of a firstconductive material on a top surface of the substrate; forming a patternof a second conductive material on one of a bottom surface of thesubstrate and a dielectric layer formed over the pattern of the firstconductive material; dicing the substrate into a plurality of dies eachhaving a first diced surface and a second diced surface, the first dicedsurface and the second diced surface formed by the dicing of thesubstrate; securing the first diced surface of each of the plurality ofdies to a retaining material; encapsulating the plurality of dies in anencapsulent to form a reconstituted wafer; and forming a pattern of athird conductive material on the second diced surfaces by metalizing asurface of the reconstituted wafer.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereineach of the first conductive material, the second conductive material,and the third conductive material comprise a metal.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein forming the pattern of a first conductive material onthe top surface of the substrate comprises forming a first plurality ofmetal lines on the top surface of the substrate.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein forming the pattern of the second conductive material on thebottom surface of the substrate comprises forming a second plurality ofmetal lines on the bottom surface of the substrate.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein forming the second plurality of metal lines on thebottom surface of the substrate comprises forming the second pluralityof metal lines at positions horizontally displaced from the firstplurality of metal lines on the top surface of the substrate.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein selecting a substrate comprises selecting asubstrate comprising a ferrite material.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising forming a pattern of a fourth conductive material onthe first diced surfaces.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprisingthinning the reconstituted wafer prior to one of forming the pattern ofthe third conductive material on the second diced surface and formingthe pattern of the fourth conductive material on the first dicedsurface.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein forming the pattern of thethird conductive material on the second diced surface electricallyconnects a first metal line on the top side of the substrate to a secondmetal line on the bottom side of the substrate.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein forming the pattern of the fourth conductive material on thefirst diced surface electrically connects a fourth metal line on the topside of the substrate to the second metal line on the bottom side of thesubstrate.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the electrical componentformed comprises an inductor.
 12. The method of claim 3, whereinselecting a substrate comprises selecting a substrate comprising aninsulating material.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprisingforming one or more bond pads in electrical communication with one ormore of the first plurality of metal lines on a lower side of thereconstituted wafer.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingthinning the reconstituted wafer prior to one of forming the one or morebond pads on the upper side of the reconstituted wafer and forming theone or more bond pads on the lower side of the reconstituted wafer. 15.The method of claim 12, further comprising forming one or more bond padsin electrical communication with one or more of the first plurality ofmetal lines on an upper side of the reconstituted wafer.
 16. The methodof claim 15, further comprising: incorporating the electrical componentinto an electronic module, one of the first plurality of metal linesconfigured as a through wafer via in the electronic module; andelectrically connecting a second electronic component in the electronicmodule to the one of the first plurality of metal lines.
 17. The methodof claim 15, wherein the one or more of the first plurality of metallines have a length in a direction normal to the first diced surface ofgreater than about 1 mm.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the one ormore of the first plurality of metal lines have a length which isgreater than about 15 times a thickness of the one or more of the firstplurality of metal lines and about 15 times a width of the one or moreof the first plurality of metal lines.
 19. A method of forming anelectrical component, the method comprising: forming a first pattern ofmetal lines on a top surface of a substrate, each of the metal lines inthe first pattern having a length; forming a second pattern of a metallines one of a bottom surface of the substrate and a dielectric layerformed over the pattern of the first conductive material, the metallines in the second pattern parallel to the metal lines in the firstpattern; dicing the substrate into one or more die having a first dicedsurface and a second diced surface formed by the dicing of thesubstrate; and forming a third pattern of metal on the first dicedsurface; wherein forming the second pattern of a metal lines comprisesforming the second pattern of metal lines horizontally displaced fromthe metal lines in the first pattern in a direction normal to adirection defined by the length of a metal line in the first pattern ofmetal lines and in a plane parallel to the bottom surface of thesubstrate.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein forming the third patternof metal comprises forming a third pattern of metal lines.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, further comprising forming a fourth pattern of metallines on the second diced surface.
 22. The method of claim 21, furthercomprising electrically connecting a metal line in the first pattern ofmetal lines and a metal line in the second pattern of metal lines with ametal line in one of the third pattern of metal lines and the fourthpattern of metal lines.
 23. A method of forming an electrical component,the method comprising: selecting a substrate; forming a layer of firstsacrificial material on a top surface of the substrate; forming apattern of a first conductive material on a top surface of the layer ofthe first sacrificial material; forming a layer of second sacrificialmaterial on a top surface of the pattern of the first conductivematerial; forming a pattern of a second conductive material on a topsurface of the layer of the second sacrificial material; forming an endstructure physically joined to at least a portion of the pattern of thefirst conductive material and to at least a portion of the pattern ofthe second conductive material; removing the substrate and the layer ofthe first sacrificial material from the pattern of the first conductivematerial; embedding the pattern of the first conductive material and thepattern of the second conductive material in one of a reconstitutedwafer and a multi-chip module; and removing the end structure from theembedded pattern of the first conductive material and pattern of thesecond conductive material.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein a planedefined by the first diced surface and a plane defined by the seconddiced surface are substantially perpendicular to a plane defined by thetop surface and a plane defined by the bottom surface.